The Case For/ The Case Against.. (lyric, blues, dance, drum)

jackhammer · 05-20-2008, 07:45 PM

This thread follows a regular format in Empire movie magazine which put's a classic film on trial with pro and anti reviews vying for supremacy. I thought it would be an idea to clone it and apply it to classic albums. The idea is for either a pro or anti post on a particular album that is well written and informative. You can only have one view on an album whether good or bad. Although it may seem like an excuse to pour scorn on disliked albums, I am trying to get posts that may change peoples perceptions of classic albums for better or worse.

I will begin with Led Zeppelin: 4.

Case against:

An album that regulary tops many U.K magazines Best Rock Album's Ever and a massive success internationally, there is no denying the albums reverence. Why?

Let's delve deeper. Album opener Black Dog whacks Robert Plant's white man blues wail upon us, followed by an electric groove blues riff. Quite a good riff. One minute later it is already grating and repetitive. The band have hammered the hell out of a fairly unoriginal riff and gave 15 year old headbangers a sore bonce the next day.

Rock N Roll follows. Yes thats what it is. The drumbeat that all aspiring rock drummers should begin with because it's quintessential. You mean easy? A song that meanders along and could and was replicated by many bands before.

The Battle Of Evermore. I get stuck here. This is a well crafted Acoustic Folk track. Nevertheless it's taken until track 3 to get a good reaction.

Stairway to Heaven. Bring it on. Let's feel the wrath. There are some fantastic aspects on this track. John Bonhams drum fills towards the end are superlative and the track is perfectly written and composed. It also begun the era of the power ballad. The slow acoustic intro. The slow build to a crescendo that feels forced and not emotional. The first couple of minutes with the flute sounds like a bad version of Fairport Convention or any multitude of Folk rock bands that were in proliferation at this time. This track is certainly not terrible yet it is an AOR reps dream and set a template for many emotional rock ballads that bombarded the scene after this.

Misty Mountain Hop. Nice drums coupled with a ridiculous vocal/guitar sync that sounds like a nursery ryhme make for a track that could have been great yet is spectaculary ordinary.

Four Sticks has some nice blues time signatures and is the nearest the band get to jamming and letting the music flow. However it seems out of place with the polished nature of the rest of the album.

Going To California is an acoustic ballad that has some nice touches yet it never engrosses me. It seems emotionally detached and a filler to break up the second side of the album.

When The Levee Breaks. The opening crime from this track is that Bonhams drum pattern was fed into a million drum machines and spewed forth to make some truly hideous tracks. Yes Bonhams perfect drum sound was a template for the first slew of drum machines. Again the lazy Blues riff is enjoyable yet is played ad nauseam, thus rendering it no better than the multitude of Blues-Rock bands that were two a penny in england in the late 60's/early 70's.

In summation. I do not hate this album at all and I can hear so many good moments on here. Unfortunately i can also hear so much unoriginal, lazy and banal songs that it makes me justify my own view that it is an overated album and not deserving of the many No1 spots it so regulary garners.

Urban Hat€monger ? · 05-20-2008, 07:49 PM

Pissing on sacred cows , i'm there

I think Misty Mountain Hop is about the only song on that album I can tolerate now.

ProggyMan · 05-20-2008, 08:07 PM

Astral Weeks-Van Morrison, Case Against

This is by no means a bad record, and the title track is just gorgeous, but overall the album lacks any diversity and doesn't have quite the songwriting strength of Veedon Fleece or Moondance. Any album that is consistently ranked among the best of all time needs something to make it stand out from the crowd, and this just doesn't have that.

jackhammer · 05-20-2008, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProggyMan

Astral Weeks-Van Morrison, Case Against

This is by no means a bad record, and the title track is just gorgeous, but overall the album lacks any diversity and doesn't have quite the songwriting strength of Veedon Fleece or Moondance. Any album that is consistently ranked among the best of all time needs something to make it stand out from the crowd, and this just doesn't have that.

Let's just beat the schizz out of 4 before any new albums are introduced my good man!

sleepy jack · 05-20-2008, 08:14 PM

My review:

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepy jack fire drill

Led Zeppelin "Led Zeppelin IV"

I understand why its a classic and all because its got annoying radio anthems like Rock and Roll coupled with such terrible lyrical subjects like the Battle of Evermore and Going to California (lol@ him not getting laid) but how anyone can stand Plants annoying wailing and Page's stolen riffs in addition to the sheer annoyingness of songs like Misty Mountain Hop is beyond me. Thank you for wasting 40 minutes of my time Zeppelin.

ProggyMan · 05-20-2008, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackhammer

Let's just beat the schizz out of 4 before any new albums are introduced my good man!

Oh, we all take a dig at it first!

jackhammer · 05-20-2008, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProggyMan

Oh, we all take a dig at it first!

We can dig or take a dig. Astral weeks can be the next one in line. IF you expand your review.

ProggyMan · 05-20-2008, 08:18 PM

How long do you expect? Like a full review? I thought you were just going overboard to start it off.

jackhammer · 05-20-2008, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProggyMan

How long do you expect? Like a full review? I thought you were just going overboard to start it off.

If you like/dislike a particular album then you have to back it up. Although it may seem like a frivolous thread, i want the thread to at least be accurate in opinions and infomative.

ProggyMan · 05-20-2008, 08:27 PM

Gotcha. I'll write up more when we're done with IIII.

05-20-2008, 07:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	The Case For/ The Case Against.. This thread follows a regular format in Empire movie magazine which put's a classic film on trial with pro and anti reviews vying for supremacy. I thought it would be an idea to clone it and apply it to classic albums. The idea is for either a pro or anti post on a particular album that is well written and informative. You can only have one view on an album whether good or bad. Although it may seem like an excuse to pour scorn on disliked albums, I am trying to get posts that may change peoples perceptions of classic albums for better or worse. I will begin with Led Zeppelin: 4. Case against: An album that regulary tops many U.K magazines Best Rock Album's Ever and a massive success internationally, there is no denying the albums reverence. Why? Let's delve deeper. Album opener Black Dog whacks Robert Plant's white man blues wail upon us, followed by an electric groove blues riff. Quite a good riff. One minute later it is already grating and repetitive. The band have hammered the hell out of a fairly unoriginal riff and gave 15 year old headbangers a sore bonce the next day. Rock N Roll follows. Yes thats what it is. The drumbeat that all aspiring rock drummers should begin with because it's quintessential. You mean easy? A song that meanders along and could and was replicated by many bands before. The Battle Of Evermore. I get stuck here. This is a well crafted Acoustic Folk track. Nevertheless it's taken until track 3 to get a good reaction. Stairway to Heaven. Bring it on. Let's feel the wrath. There are some fantastic aspects on this track. John Bonhams drum fills towards the end are superlative and the track is perfectly written and composed. It also begun the era of the power ballad. The slow acoustic intro. The slow build to a crescendo that feels forced and not emotional. The first couple of minutes with the flute sounds like a bad version of Fairport Convention or any multitude of Folk rock bands that were in proliferation at this time. This track is certainly not terrible yet it is an AOR reps dream and set a template for many emotional rock ballads that bombarded the scene after this. Misty Mountain Hop. Nice drums coupled with a ridiculous vocal/guitar sync that sounds like a nursery ryhme make for a track that could have been great yet is spectaculary ordinary. Four Sticks has some nice blues time signatures and is the nearest the band get to jamming and letting the music flow. However it seems out of place with the polished nature of the rest of the album. Going To California is an acoustic ballad that has some nice touches yet it never engrosses me. It seems emotionally detached and a filler to break up the second side of the album. When The Levee Breaks. The opening crime from this track is that Bonhams drum pattern was fed into a million drum machines and spewed forth to make some truly hideous tracks. Yes Bonhams perfect drum sound was a template for the first slew of drum machines. Again the lazy Blues riff is enjoyable yet is played ad nauseam, thus rendering it no better than the multitude of Blues-Rock bands that were two a penny in england in the late 60's/early 70's. In summation. I do not hate this album at all and I can hear so many good moments on here. Unfortunately i can also hear so much unoriginal, lazy and banal songs that it makes me justify my own view that it is an overated album and not deserving of the many No1 spots it so regulary garners. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

05-20-2008, 07:49 PM	#2 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,605	Pissing on sacred cows , i'm there I think Misty Mountain Hop is about the only song on that album I can tolerate now. __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.

05-20-2008, 08:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
ProggyMan Reformed Jackass Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 3,964	Astral Weeks-Van Morrison, Case Against This is by no means a bad record, and the title track is just gorgeous, but overall the album lacks any diversity and doesn't have quite the songwriting strength of Veedon Fleece or Moondance. Any album that is consistently ranked among the best of all time needs something to make it stand out from the crowd, and this just doesn't have that.

05-20-2008, 08:18 PM	#8 (permalink)
ProggyMan Reformed Jackass Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 3,964	How long do you expect? Like a full review? I thought you were just going overboard to start it off.

05-20-2008, 08:27 PM	#10 (permalink)
ProggyMan Reformed Jackass Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 3,964	Gotcha. I'll write up more when we're done with IIII.